Consequences and Significance
of the Rwandan Genocide
CONSEQUENCES
Human Loss
• 800,000-1 Million dead (mostly Tutsi civilians)
• Millions more were left homeless and
displaced
• One Canadian peacekeeper lost his life in
Rwanda (approx. 125 in total peacekeeping
missions)
Sacrifice
• Gen. Romeo Dallaire (credited for saving
20,000 Tutsis) and many others who
witnessed the atrocities in Rwanda suffered
debilitating PTSD. Life will never be the same
for them.
UNAMIR operation
• While it failed to stop the genocide, it
remained in Rwanda (after the Rwandan
Patriotic Front victory) until March 1996 as
one of the largest humanitarian relief efforts
in history.
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)
• 1995-2008 trials against high-ranking people
for their role in the Rwandan genocide
• Three former senior Rwanda defense and
military officials were convicted for organizing
the genocide
SIGNIFICANCE
• Rwanda opened our eyes to the denial we
exercise when we KNOW bad things happen, but
we do nothing to help. Ex. Allowing a bully to
‘bully’ makes you just as guilty
• United Nations (UN) has an obligation /
responsibility to intervene with or without ‘selfinterest’ of the member countries
• Rwanda is the example of HOW BAD genocide
can be without the intervention of the
international community
• Moreover, the remorse that came from the
international community, and the UN finally
calling the war in Rwanda a “GENOCIDE”, was
significant. Admission that the UN was wrong,
hopefully means they will not forget this in
the future.
• Our General Romeo Dallaire saved 20,000
lives during the UNAMIR. We are proud of
him and the over 400 Canadian peacekeepers
that served in Rwanda for their contribution,
despite the lack of support from the UN
organization.